


The Storm is Awake

by amooniesong



Series: A Father, His Three Children, and the Green Boy [8]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Clay | Dream & Technoblade Friendship (Video Blogging RPF), Family, Friendship, Gen, Insecurity, Kid Fic, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, One Shot, Realistic Minecraft, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:47:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29343039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amooniesong/pseuds/amooniesong
Summary: Phil had never lied to him. Phil made no secret of how he was found, of how all his sons came to be his children, but that didn’t mean Phil hadn’t omitted parts. Phil had never told him that Piglins came from the Nether, Phil had never said that Piglins were monsters. He’d thought he was related to the pigs that walked the Overworld - that he wasn’t something from the Nether - but he’d been wrong. He’d been wrong and while Phil had never explicitly lied to him, it was something that had been kept from him.------------After meeting the Piglins in the Nether, Technoblade is determined to find someone that will help him translate the book they gave him.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: A Father, His Three Children, and the Green Boy [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019533
Comments: 32
Kudos: 191





	The Storm is Awake

**Author's Note:**

> in this fic in the au, dadza is dadza, wilbur is seventeen, techno & dream are fourteen, tommy is nine

Technoblade took in a deep breath as he shifted from foot to foot, looking out of his bedroom window at the village in the distance. It was the middle of the night and the settlement became a shining beacon on the horizon, glowstone lamps illuminating the homes, businesses and nearby fields. There were lights around their home, too, but they didn’t extend out quite as far. 

Of the two miles from their cottage to the village, it was more than one and three quarters in darkness.

There lay a problem, because darkness meant  _ mobs,  _ and while Technoblade was a capable fighter he knew that on a clear night like this there would be no reason for any monsters to seek shelter. There was no rain for the endermen to hide from, no winds that would carry the skeletons away. 

But Technoblade wasn’t the sort of person to back down from something that was already set in his mind just because there were  _ mobs.  _ It just meant that he’d grip his sword a little tighter, that he’d run a little faster, and he’d hope that nothing managed to catch him off guard. He knew the route from the front door of the cottage to the village, he knew every little nook and cranny that the monsters could hide in and jump out from - they weren’t going to outsmart him.

Before leaving he turned his head to the side, glancing down to the satchel that rested against his hip. He moved one hand to the bag, fiddling with the latch quickly and reaching inside: the book was still there. It had been there for several days now, since he’d come up with his plan, and he’d been waiting for the perfect time to head into the village. Well now Tommy, Wilbur and Phil were all sleeping, his family wasn't going to see him leave, it was as perfect as it was going to get.

With the same hand, he pulled at the strap over his chest and with the other he reached for the handle of his sword, ensuring that if he needed it in a hurry it wasn’t going to be awkward to grab. 

Happy that everything was exactly how it needed to be, Technoblade leaned forward and over his dresser before pushing the window open. The wind wasn’t too strong, but he still felt the breeze blowing through his hair. From there it wasn’t a long drop - and he could walk down the slanted roof for most of it - but it would save the treacherous journey down the squeaky staircase and through the creaky door. Logically, Technoblade knew if he admitted to Phil that he’d gone to the Nether he wouldn’t be upset for long - and if he mentioned that Piglins had given him a book and that he was starting to question his ancestry then Phil would focus on  _ that  _ far more than the trip to the Nether - but something in his chest wouldn’t let him speak the words aloud.

He had to do this alone. 

Phil had never lied to him. Phil made no secret of how he was found, of how all his sons came to be his children, but that didn’t mean Phil hadn’t  _ omitted  _ parts. Phil had never told him that Piglins came from the Nether, Phil had never said that Piglins were monsters. He’d thought he was related to the pigs that walked the Overworld - that he wasn’t something from  _ the Nether _ \- but he’d been wrong. He’d been wrong and while Phil had never explicitly lied to him, it was something that had been kept from him.

Technoblade had never really felt insecure before. He thought he knew who he was - a strange kind of pig that walked on hind legs and could put up one hell of a fight - but now all of that was thrown completely out of the window.

He wasn’t a strange pig anymore, he wasn’t a freak of his species that had belonged with people more than animals, he was a monster. He was a creature of the Nether that people feared, and yet he couldn’t remember a time they had been frightened of him. No one in the village had ever even  _ looked  _ at him strangely (though he knew that Phil had found him when he was very young, and there was always a chance that he was just too young to remember any discrimination). 

There were so many different questions that he wanted to ask the Piglins, and yet one was far more pressing than the others, but he couldn’t ask any of them until he figured out how to speak their language. And that was where tonight came in.

He was going to go to the village, he was going to find someone that could translate the book and help him read it, help him learn their language, and he wasn’t going to tell Phil.

Maybe once he’d figured it out, he would. But right now, this was something that Technoblade wanted - no,  _ needed -  _ to do alone.

But of course, as he began to climb through the window, the world reminded him that things didn’t go as planned. With the heel of one foot on the tiles of the roof he heard his bedroom door  _ click,  _ and he let out a quiet huff. A snort.  _ The sound a monster made.  _ He wasn’t exactly going to be able to explain  _ this one  _ to Phil easily, and he turned his head to look over his shoulder, expecting the worst.

“Techno?”

_ Oh.  _

“Tommy?”

The two brothers looked at each other for a long moment, Technoblade almost forgetting to blink as Tommy looked up at him. He had two big watery eyes,  _ Human eyes,  _ and Technoblade furrowed his brows at him.

“What are you doing?” He asked, an ear twitching.

“I had a bad dream.” Tommy replied innocently, as if he hadn’t even noticed his older brother was half way through making his escape.

“Go see dad.” Technoblade rolled his eyes, but Tommy just shook his head. “Why not?”

“It was about you.” Tommy admitted, and Technoblade swore he heard the child sniffle. “Y-you got hurt and I’m scared and I want to sleep in your room tonight so I know you’re safe.”

If Technoblade wasn’t so preoccupied, if he didn’t already have  _ plans  _ for the night, he might have found Tommy’s confession endearing. His little brother might be nine, and his personality might be boisterous and loud, but quiet moments like this still happened. It was the sort of thing that he’d appreciate more when he was older, looking back on the times they’d shared together growing up, but for now Technoblade simply responded with his usual teenage wit and sarcasm.

“I don’t want you sleeping in my room. If you’re having bad dreams then you’ll cry and be loud.” He said flatly. “Go see dad.”

As if he’d spoken some kind of prophecy into existence, Technoblade immediately saw Tommy’s bottom lip begin to quiver and his hands balling up the hem of his pyjama shirt as he tried not to cry. He let out several quiet whimpers and his breathing became louder as he tried to calm himself down.

If Tommy started crying, he’d wake up Phil. If he woke up Phil, then Technoblade couldn't go to the village tonight. If he didn’t go tonight, that was another day he wasn’t learning the language of his people, another day without being able to ask the questions he desperately needed the answers to.

“Tommy, shhh, wait.” Technoblade brought his leg back inside the window and rushed to his brother’s side, crouching down in front of him and placing hands on his shoulders. “I’m not hurt, I’m never hurt, I’m  _ way  _ too big and strong to be hurt.” He said, trying to reassure the boy. “But if you really want, you can spend the night with me. You just have to  _ promise  _ to never  _ ever  _ tell dad about this, okay?”

“W-what are you doing?” Tommy asked, his breathing still uneven as tears fell from his eyes. “W-why can’t we tell dad?”

“I’m going to the village. You can come too if you’re quiet.”

Tommy opened his mouth as if to say something, but Technoblade continued before he had a chance.

“I won’t get hurt. Do you wanna come with me or not? Because you aren’t allowed to tell dad either way, and if you don’t come with me then--”   
  


“I wanna come.” Tommy said quickly, his voice a little too loud for Technoblade’s liking and he immediately placed a finger over his lips.

“Okay. You gotta be quiet while we climb out the window. I’ll go first and then I’ll help you out, got it?”

Tommy nodded, the hands at his sides coming up to wipe the tears from his face as he remained absolutely silent. Technoblade gave him a smile, slowly removing the finger from his lips before standing back up and crossing the bedroom with a newly acquired shadow following close behind. This time he clambered through the window  _ much  _ more quickly, not wanting to risk another brother plagued by nightmares ruining his plans. Once he was out on the roof and confident in his balance, he reached back inside and held his arms out for Tommy.

“Come closer.” He beckoned quietly, and his brother did as he was told. It seemed that the upset his bad dream had caused had quickly dissipated at the promise of an adventure with his brother. Tommy was still small enough that it was easy to pull him through the bedroom window, and for once he listened as Technoblade told him to be careful and watch where he was stepping as they made their way down from the roof.

By the time they were both on the grass - Technoblade catching Tommy mid-jump and lowering him to the ground beside him - it was becoming increasingly clear how the night was going to go.

Between them and the village were a number of mobs. The zombies wouldn’t be too much of an issue - they were slow and stupid, easy to out manuever and outsmart - the skeletons were slow to reload and the spiders scuttled too noisly to really be able to sneak up on them. The biggest worries were creepers - which Technoblade  _ knew  _ he didn’t have a shield to protect against - and endermen. He’d just have to cross his fingers they didn’t come across many of those.

Technoblade intended on grabbing a torch to help light their way and keep them warm - especially as Tommy was coming with him now - but when he turned around to grab some wood from the pile by their cottage he came face to face with another. 

“Dream?” 

“Techno!” Dream said cheerfully,  _ and loudly.  _ “Are we--”

“Shut up, you’re gonna wake up Phil!” He hissed, grabbing Dream by the hand and pulling his friend closer. “Why are you here?”

“Bored, couldn’t sleep, wanted company.” He shrugged. “Why aren’t you in bed? I had rocks to slingshot at your window.”

“We’re going to the village!” Tommy said excitedly, the young boy giddy at the fact that he was going to get to hang out not just with Technoblade, but with Technoblade’s friend too.  _ And  _ they were out at night. The youngest didn’t seem to care that he was just wearing his pyjamas - he didn’t even have  _ shoes  _ on, for crying out loud - he was just excited to be part of this adventure. Technoblade decided that if nothing else, this was going to earn him a couple of days of peace and quiet from his brother.

“You coming?” Technoblade asked, and Dream nodded.

“Sure. Tubbo’s asleep and he’s pretty good at looking after himself in the mornings if I’m not home.”

Finally managing to do  _ something  _ undisturbed, Technoblade grabbed the wood he’d been reaching for. As he worked on lighting the end he saw Dream pulling off his hoodie from the corner of his eye, giving it to Tommy. The fabric completely drowned his little brother, but at least it would keep him warm. After another minute passed and everything was finally ready, the trio began their journey to the village. With three pairs of eyes instead of two it was much easier to avoid the mobs, and with two fighting instead of one it was much safer. They made it there in a little over half an hour without so much as a scrape or a bruise. Evading mobs had meant the three didn’t have time for idle conversation, but after Technoblade hung up the torch on a wall at the outskirts of the town, Dream asked the question that he had been dreading.

“Why are we here?” 

“Yeah, Techno, why  _ are  _ we here?” Tommy repeated, putting his hands on his hips as if he was getting  _ one up  _ on his brother. All it got was a muffled laugh from Dream and an eye roll from the Piglin.

“I need to speak to someone. You two can do whatever you want, just stay in the village and don’t get into trouble. I do  _ not  _ need someone telling Phil we were here.”

“Why aren’t you calling him dad?” Tommy asked, and Technoblade winced. The question was almost worse than the one Dream had asked, and he sheathed his bloody sword back at his side to have an excuse to look away from his younger brother. His ears twitched again, nose wrinkling as he spoke.

“I’ll meet you back here in an hour. Don’t die.” He said, avoiding Tommy’s question entirely and turning on his heels to walk away from the pair. He trusted that Dream would keep an eye on Tommy - and trusted that Tommy would be too excited about having a chance to be with Dream on his own to wander off. It meant that he could walk through the cobblestone streets with only one thought in mind.

_ Find someone that can translate.  _

He didn’t expect to be able to walk into the home of just anyone and demand that they translate the book - it was late at night after all - and he equally wasn’t expecting that the person he was looking for would be at the village pub, so he walked down the small, dark alleys between buildings to search for someone a little less…  _ On the beaten path.  _ Piglins were monsters,  _ he  _ was a monster, he’d have to find someone shady enough to know how to speak their language. He had no idea if this was the sort of place he’d find them, or if he’d have to go into a city (which would be  _ much  _ more difficult, and he couldn’t just do that by sneaking out at night). 

“Hey.”

Technoblade stopped in his third alley, turning to face the shadow that the voice had come from, and he looked down to make eye contact with the figure that emerged from the darkness. It took a lot not to be afraid of him in a place like this, and he smiled to himself: he must’ve found the person that he was looking for.

“Hello.” Technoblade said quietly. “Can you help me?”

“Depends. I can help a lot of people with a lot of things. What do  _ you  _ need help with?”

“Translations.” He said simply, thanking whatever God there was that Piglin puberty had hit him early. If he’d still had the high pitched voice of Tommy or Dream he’d have been laughed out of the alley the moment he’d opened his mouth, at least this person seemed to see him as someone that was a customer.

“I can translate, more languages than you might think exist.” 

“I need you to translate  _ this.”  _ Technoblade clarified, reaching into his satchel and pulling out the book. He was nervous upon handing it over, wary that the man he was giving it to could be less careful with it than him, but he needn’t have worried. He flicked through the pages slowly, fingers tracing over the ink before he hummed.

“Yes, Piglinese, I can translate this. But it’ll cost you.”

Of course it would. “How much?” Technoblade asked, and the man chuckled to himself. He was aware of the older’s eyes looking him up and down and Technoblade’s fists tightened, before he raised his hands to indicate that he was no threat.

“Don’t look at me like that,  _ I’m  _ not the monster in this situation. Your sword will do as payment.” 

Technoblade swallowed, looking to his side. He almost wished that the dark thoughts in his mind had come to pass - that sword was supposed to keep him, Dream, and Tommy alive as they made their way home.

But Dream had a sword, and he’d come this far. He wasn’t going to turn back now. He  _ needed  _ to know how to talk to those people, there was nothing that would stand in his way of that. 

“You can have it. Payment on receipt of goods.” He said as sternly as he could, hoping his stature would be enough to convince the man not to argue back.

“In advance, or I’m not doing it.” The man said simply. Technoblade looked at him, his eyes without fear and his lips tight. He meant what he said, and he wasn’t going to go back on his word. There was no counter offer to this, no changing his mind - he wasn’t afraid of a Piglin and Technoblade wasn’t enough of a threat in his eyes. It meant that he had two choices: either Technoblade handed over his sword now, or the book remained unreadable. 

So, like the desperate, lost and confused teenager he was, he pulled his sword from his side and twisted it in his hands, before holding out the hilt toward the man in the alley. He didn’t know why he trusted him, but he’d known that getting the book translated wasn’t exactly going to be done at the hands of an honourable man.

“Thanks.” The stranger replied, his hands wrapping tightly around it. He took a step back, swinging a few times and humming to himself. “Blade’s a bit dull, slightly bloody.”

“It’s used.” Technoblade said bluntly, and a drop of blood splattered onto the floor as if to prove his point.

“Yeah.” The man’s eyes moved to look at the entrails of a zombie. “I can tell.”

“It works.” Technoblade shrugged. “Gotten me through a lot.”

“Come back in a week. This alley, ten pm. I’ll provide a translated copy of the book.”

“Do you know if there’s anyone that can teach me how to  _ speak  _ Piglinese?”

“That’ll cost an awful lot more.”

“I can pay.”

“Bring five diamonds or three emeralds and you’ve got yourself an hour with me. No weapons, no others.”

“Thank you.” Technoblade breathed, and the man nodded. Without another word, he returned to the shadows, and Technoblade returned to the brightly lit streets.

There was still a while until he had to meet up with Tommy and Dream again, he could easily find a weapon to use on their way home in the time he had left, right?

# # #

As it turned out, he wasn’t  _ always  _ right, and this was unfortunately one of those occasions. He met up with Tommy and Dream at the edge of the village as planned with no new sword to replace the one he’d bartered away, and the horizon was full of monsters. 

If he sought out an adult in the village and explained what had happened they’d give him something to defend himself with, but there was always a chance that they’d call home. Call  _ Phil.  _ And Phil couldn’t know that he’d snuck out in the middle of the night with his brother, he’d be  _ livid.  _ So the only option was to make the journey back with Dream’s sword protecting them all. Of course, Technoblade could use the fire at the end of the torch to his advantage, but there was only so much he would be able to do.

Their best hope was to make it back as quickly as possible.

“Techno?” Tommy said quietly, tugging on the cape of his older brother as they began to head out into the dark. “I’m scared.”

“Don’t worry, nothing will hurt you.” Technoblade reassured him, flashing the youngest a smile. “I’ll protect you, and Dream’s almost as good at fighting as me.”

“I’m the one with a sword right now.” Dream said, just loud enough for Technoblade to hear. “Not sure you should be calling me  _ second best.”  _

“It’s two miles, if we walk fast enough we’ll be home in thirty minutes at most, we’ll be  _ fine.”  _

“Will you hold my hand?” Tommy asked quietly, and Technoblade hesitated. Normally comforting his brother came relatively easy to him, and if Tommy needed a hand to hold he’d offer it (unless, of course,  _ someone else was looking),  _ but tonight he couldn’t. He couldn’t reach out with that overly pink, leathery skin. He couldn’t touch his brother with the hand that was the hand of a monster. 

“I have to hold the torch.” Technoblade said instead, trying to make himself sound sure of his words but instead just making himself sound emotionless. “You’re nine, Tommy, you’re old enough to walk without me holding your hand.”

He didn’t see Dream turning and giving him a look, but he did see Tommy’s bottom lip starting to wobble for the second time that night. Technoblade tried to ignore it. He didn’t  _ want  _ to make his brother cry, but his brother wanted to be safe from the monsters. If  _ he  _ was a monster too, then how was he supposed to offer any kind of physical comfort?

After Technoblade’s cold refusal, the three continued in relative quiet. The only sounds were that of grass squelching beneath their feet, the occasional sniffle from Tommy, and the noises of the mobs that surrounded them. So far there’d been two zombies that had come close enough for Dream to need to deal with, and one skeleton that he’d run on ahead to kill before there was a chance for any arrows to hit the two brothers. Things were going well -  _ really well -  _ until, of course, they weren’t.

No one heard it coming, because the three were focused on what was in front of them. They were so close to home that looking  _ behind them  _ wasn’t something that crossed their minds. It was only when they heard a hiss that they realised anything was amiss.

Despite the fact that they only had a moment to respond, Technoblade was quick to act. He might have been a monster, but being a Piglin gave him a few advantages. He was taller than Dream and Tommy, and he was stronger, so as he turned on the spot he kicked out one leg and used it to push Dream back, his arms focusing on grabbing his younger brother and sending them both to the ground with Technoblade’s body acting as a shield to protect Tommy from the blast. 

He didn’t hear the explosion, but he  _ did  _ hear the ringing of his ears in the moments after it had passed. He felt the ground beneath him shaking and debris and dirt falling on top of him, he felt his brother’s fingers tugging at his shirt and hot breaths from loud sobs against his neck.

God, Phil was going to  _ kill him.  _

After the ringing in his ears lessened at least enough for Technoblade to be able to hear - to be able to recognise that the coast was clear - he sat up. The pain he felt along his right side when he moved was damn near unbearable but he managed to keep himself from grunting too loudly in pain. It was for the best, too, when Tommy looked up at him with those same big, sad eyes from before. He cradled his wrist in one hand as he sniffled and Technoblade’s heart plummeted into his stomach.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, and Tommy sobbed again.

“You landed on my wrist.” He cried, and Technoblade found that he wasn’t as relieved that he’d kept Tommy safe as he’d expected to be.

He’d protected his brother from the creeper blast, but in doing so  _ he’d  _ been the one to hurt his brother.

He was still a monster.

Still a Piglin.

“Can you wiggle your fingers?”

Tommy sniffled and the pair looked at his hand, his fingers flexing slowly a moment later. 

“We’ll get ice on it when we get home. It’ll be fine tomorrow morning. Don’t tell Phil.”

“What if it’s n-not fine?” Tommy asked, and when he looked up to Technoblade the Piglin looked away.

“It will be. Dad’s got those special drinks, I’ll get one of those from the basement and you can have it before you sleep.” Technoblade said, and when Tommy only nodded in response he looked to Dream (who was finally getting back to his feet). “C’mon. If we walk quickly we’ll be home in a few minutes. Dream if you wait on the porch I’ll get you back to your house safely, too.”

“I don’t need protection from someone that doesn’t even have a sword. Besides, that creeper did nothing to me, but I’m gonna be feeling your foot in my chest for  _ weeks.”  _ Dream laughed.

Technoblade didn’t laugh.

He’d hurt Tommy and Dream, and his insecurities began to flare up more than before. Maybe this was why Phil had never told him the full truth of where he came from. Maybe Phil thought that if he didn’t  _ mention  _ that he was a monster, he’d never become it.

“Fine.” Technoblade replied, not bothering to argue. The torch he’d been carrying had been dropped to the ground in the commotion of it all and - thankfully - the dew of the grass had extinguished the flame. At least they were only a few hundred meters away from the light of the cottage.

Dream and Tommy walked several paces ahead of Technoblade and he found that he didn’t bother trying to make up the gap with several long strides. His body ached terribly from the explosion, and if he looked down to his right side he’d see that the skin of his hand was starting to blister. He’d thought after being in the Nether that being a Piglin meant he was resistant to the heat, but he supposed a creeper explosion wasn’t entirely heat based. He was in pain, but he decided he’d probably fared an awful lot better than Tommy and Dream would have done against a creeper.

He’d probably fared better against the creeper than they had against him.

In front of him, Dream and Tommy spoke quietly, and Technoblade let himself fall further back as they stepped into the light. They were safe from mobs now, the only danger here was him. 

“Tommy, say goodbye to Dream.” Technoblade said as they neared their home. “We don’t want to wake Phil up.” 

Tommy’s eyes were substantially less wet than before, though his cheeks were glistening and his wrist was still cradled in his hand. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so tired, so in pain and so in shock from the trip home he’d have said something back, but Tommy just quietly did as he was told. His words were so muted that Technoblade could barely hear them himself, but Dream clearly could. He replied just as quietly - as if they were trying to make sure that he couldn’t hear them - and with a wave Dream was turning on his heels and running off towards the forest at the back of the house, leaving Tommy standing there in his hoodie.

Dream didn’t even offer up a goodbye to him.

Technoblade walked forward, moving so he stood to the right of Tommy and his brother couldn’t see the injuries he’d sustained, before placing a hand on his shoulder as gently and carefully as he could. He wouldn’t hurt his brother again, he  _ couldn’t.  _

“Come on. Inside.” Technoblade said. “Go straight to your room and change into some clean pyjamas, I’ll fetch a potion and some ice. If Phil wakes up just tell him you had a bad dream and I’m sorting it, don’t mention anything else to him.”

Tommy nodded wordlessly and as soon as Technoblade opened the door (as slowly as he could, barely even inching it open to avoid the worst of the squeaking) Tommy took off upstairs. He was tall for nine, but he was light, and the creaky step that Technoblade knew he would stand on didn’t make a sound when Tommy crossed over it. Of course it didn’t: Tommy wasn’t a monster. 

He did as he promised his brother he would do, taking a bottle of the health potions Phil kept stored in the basement (mentally taking a note that he needed to make one to replace the one he’d taken) and bagging up some ice from the freezer before heading upstairs to find Tommy. The stairs creaked beneath his weight, but it wasn’t enough to wake Phil up, and Technoblade was undisturbed as he helped Tommy to settle into bed. He didn’t dare to tuck the covers over his brother - not when he looked so small and fragile beneath them - but he helped him drink the potion after the ice was rested on his wrist. He’d be fine come morning, Technoblade was certain of it, and when Tommy whispered a quiet goodnight and closed his eyes the older got to his feet and retreated to his own bedroom. 

Technoblade looked out the window to see the sun beginning to rise. It always came up early in the summer, but today seemed earlier than usual. Perhaps it was just the world mocking him for the poor decisions he’d made that night, now refusing to even give him the peace he needed to sleep. Instead of letting it get to him he drew the curtains over his window and sat down on the edge of his bed, pulling his shirt over his head so he could get a better look at the burns he’d sustained.

For the most part, his clothes seemed to have protected him. The parts of his arm that had been covered by the robe and shirt he never left home without (that were both now lying on his bedroom floor, the edges somewhat charred from the explosion) were fine, but his hand wasn’t. The back of his hand looked as if it had melted and the blisters on his skin had started to swell, enough that looking at it forced a look of disgust onto his face. Even in the dark room he sat in, he knew they were bad. He didn’t need to see the burns in all their gruesome detail to tell that - the pain told him plenty. It would heal eventually, but it would scar.

He could go back downstairs and grab himself another potion from the basement, but if he did that then he’d have two to replace (and he risked waking up Phil with the creaking steps if he made another trip). In the end, Technoblade decided not to bother. He got ready for bed, changing quickly into his pyjamas as he thought about the book that he’d left with the man in the alley. He had to go back in a week, which meant that before then he needed to go out and go mining so he’d have new weapons to protect himself with. He also needed to find diamonds or emeralds so he could have a lesson in  _ speaking  _ Piglinese rather than just having the book translated for him, and it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to find more precious gems and metals he could use for payment that meant he wouldn’t have to trade away his defense next time.

Tommy and Dream weren’t going to be coming along for the next trip, either. He couldn’t risk them coming with him and getting hurt again, and he couldn’t risk them crashing his lesson. All of this was to find out who he really was, and that was something he had to do alone.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you guys enjoyed! if you did, please leave a kudos & consider leaving a comment - it really does make my day! & if you'd like more of me you can join my [discord server or follow my ](https://discord.gg/HEj9Z8h27w)[twitter](https://twitter.com/moonieiswriting)
> 
> thank you all for reading, and if you have anything in particular you'd like to see in this au feel free to suggest it down below! i have lots of plans for technoblade's story in this but i'm always open to ideas :]


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